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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya

This dish was inspired by a new product I came across that I had to try. It's a white wine and herb broth from College Inn, and it has an amazing flavor and fragrance. I've been trying to think of a good experiment for this broth and this turned out delicious.

The chicken and chorizo in this dish are a match made in culinary heaven! You might notice the lack of tomato in this jambalaya, which is due to having one child with a tomato allergy, but with the combination of flavors you won't even miss the tomato. Another twist to this recipe would be to add a dozen or so peeled and deveined raw shrimp in place of the ham. The shrimp steams nicely on top of the chicken and will add a more Cajun/creole factor. Directions for this alternate version are included.

My favorite part of this meal? It's all cooked in a single pot and start to finish it takes less than 1 hour. Enjoy!

Combine the 7 dry herbs in a small bowl. Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry, then sprinkle with the dry rub mixture and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pot and cook about 5 - 7 minutes, turn and cook 5 minutes longer. (*Note: Cooking time for chicken may be a bit less if you are using boneless chicken. Just adjust your cooking time down a few minutes.)

When chicken is nicely browned on all sides (it does not need to be fully cooked yet), add the chorizo to the pan and crumble, cooking for about 2 minutes. Next add the ham and cook 2 additional minutes.

Add the onion, celery, pepper and garlic to the pot, stirring gently to combine around the chicken and let the veggies saute for 2 minutes.

Using a pair of tongs, move 3 of the chicken pieces atop the other 3 pieces, add the rice to the pot, then add the broth. Gently blend the veggie/rice and broth mixture, then reposition the chicken pieces so that all 6 are nestled into the broth. (** See Note below for adding optional shrimp at this point.)

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until nearly all of broth has been absorbed by the rice. Do not stir while it is simmering.

Remove the pot from the heat and let stand about 5 minutes to allow the broth to fully absorb. Serve with crusty french bread and a bottle of Old Vine Zinfandel.

** Note: If you choose to substitute the shrimp in place of the ham, just after you add the rice and broth, reposition the chicken then add the shrimp to the pot, pushing them down into the mixture. We made this same recipe using 6 chicken drumsticks plus 1 lb of shrimp in exchange for the ham, and left the rest of the recipe the same. The results were outstanding!! The rice was tender and full of flavor from the chorizo and spices and the shrimp and chicken were perfectly cooked.

Wow, do all your recipes exclude tomatoes? Is this a tomato allergy or a citric acid allergy? My husband is allergic to citric acid so I am always looking for tomato-free and lemon/lime/orange-free recipes!

Hi Kat ~ My daughter is allergic to tomatoes, so we make meals without them when we can. We make a chili with no beans or tomatoes and you don't even miss them. It's also easy to puree red peppers to make a "spaghetti sauce". Look under the CHILI and PASTA categories for these recipes, and thanks for visiting!